Sanity
by HarmfulLiesKillerTrth
Summary: Ember Iliune is an elite member of Fairy Tail, one of the Guild's strongest members. Physically, at least. Mentally, Ember relies on certain people. People who keep leaving her. What will she do when the one she trusted most is no longer a part of the Guild? And how will she cope with this new man trying to replace him? Will Ember be able to save her sanity?
1. Back Home

_**A/N: Hello, Lovelies! I've decided to try my hand at a **_**Fairy Tail _fanfic, and wanted to share it with you! This is also the first time I've ever written in third-person, so I would love to hear your opinions of how I did-if you liked it, if you didn't, and pointers, anything! I have pretty tough skin, so don't hold back! But do try to be polite! ;) _**

**_DISCLAIMER: I, sadly, do not own _Fairy Tail, _or any of its characters. I do, however, own my OC, Ember. And the cover pic I created, but only thanks to Rinmaru. _**

**_Enjoy!_**

**_HLKT_**

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><p>Ember wandered through the town of Magnolia, taking her time. It had been awhile since she had seen the town with her own eyes, and it had changed quite a bit. Even from her position on the street, she could see the tall building in the center of town that could be none other than the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. That had probably changed the most. She hadn't believed the rumors that Phantom Lord had managed to destroy the Guild Hall, but it seems she could put some stock in them. Ember wanted to take the chance to admire the new building from a distance, just like she had done so many years before when she had first joined.<p>

Ember turned to the nearest building and stretched her arms above her head, digging her fingers into the brick. She pulled herself up, finding tentative toe-holds that her boots easily gripped. In almost no time, Ember was standing on top of the building. She still couldn't quite get a good view, so she hopped from building to building until she found the perfect one.

The building most certainly was different, but the feeling that rose up in her chest was not. It had been a decade since she had first found herself in front of Fairy Tail, but then, as now, she knew that it would be home. The memory of the bright smile and shinning eyes of her younger brother put a small smile on her face. Back then, they had even looked like blood-siblings. They both had black hair that fell just past their ears, shinning almost blue in the bright sunlight. Their eyes were different shades of black, her's slightly darker than his, but they shared the same haunted undertones. They had picked up a weird habit from their old master, and were standing in just their underwear (though she kept on a small undershirt). They had been roughly the same height, even if she had been threes years his senior. And magic. They might have specialized in different types, but they both had strong magical power, despite being so young.

Something gently tugged at the lace of Ember's right boot, pulling her out of her memories. She glanced down to see one of her Shadow Familiars looking up at her. Ember crouched down and reached out her hand, watching in silence as the shadow curled around her arm and swirled its way up to her ear. It softly whispered in a tongue that only she could understand that her target was, indeed, at the guild. Ember thanked her Familiar, dismissing it back to its task of watching her target, before she let a smile tug at the edges of her lips, almost identical to the one she had worn ten years prior.

More than just the Guild Hall had changed in the months that she had been gone. Even if she couldn't see herself, Ember could imagine the differences between herself then and now. In the past three years, she had finally hit a growth spurt, catching up to her youngest brother in height. Her chest had grown, too, she was excited to recall. She had been flat-chested for so long, and growing up around girls like Cana and Mirajane and Erza, all younger than her, had severely crippled her self-esteem. But now, even if her boobs weren't _as _big as the others, she had filled out quite nicely.

Ember had made a bet with Laxus the year they were both chosen to participate in the exam to become S-Class wizards. If she beat him, Laxus would pay her lingerie bill for an entire year (not a small some of Jewel, to be sure). If he won, she would grow out her hair. Ember hadn't seen the down-side to the bet, despite hating having long hair. She felt sure of her victory. The long raven locks dancing in the wind, falling to her lower back despite being tied back, so many years later, spoke of her defeat. Her bangs fell into her dark eyes, but they, too, had changed into intervening years. Where they had been an almost pure black, they were now speckled with crimson. The only outward sign of her slipping sanity.

She still had that strange stripping habit, but took solace in the fact that both of her brothers did as well. And now she took advantage of it, creating a game. Erza had long ago beaten it into her that she couldn't strip as far down as her beloved brothers, so Ember made sure that her underwear was the best of the best, as sexy as she could get away with. And she always had the Fairy Tail sign hidden somewhere on either her bra or panties. That was the game. Someone in the guild would try and find where it was, as it was hard to find and never in the same spot. If they found it, she gave them two-hundred Jewel. If they couldn't find it within five minutes, they gave her two-hundred Jewel. Flame-Brain Natsu Dragneel and his weird cat Happy would always try and find it, but usually ended up paying her. Her brother had a fifty-fifty track record of finding it, better than most other members of the guild. But Freed and Laxus were usually the ones to find it. Master always joked that it was because of how close she was to them, that they had some kind of psychic connection. It always irked Bickslow and Evergreen that they weren't part of this supposed 'group', but they were always calmed by Ember's sweet smile.

Standing back up, Ember glanced down at her clothing. She wore a red tube-top under a leather jacket and low slung dark pants that tightly gripped her legs before being tucked neatly into her knee-high boots. With a small chuckle, Ember started walking towards the edge of the building. If anyone in the guild saw her, they probably wouldn't recognize her in so much clothing. She let out a small giggle as she hopped from building to building once more, but this time getting closer to the guild. When she reached the edge of the last building closest to the guild, Ember encountered a slight problem. The guild was new. She had never been there before. And, therefore, didn't know how to sneak in.

_Daaaaaammit, _Ember thought angrily, crouching down and clutching her head. She let out a small groan before she sobered up and glanced back at the guild. She rested her elbows on her knees and clasped her hands in front of her. _It's still Fairy Tail, _she mused with a slight smirk. _Surely it can't be that hard to break in... _

Ember always hated to be wrong. And that's exactly what she was.

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><p><em><strong>Oh, and one more thing! The rating is currently set at <strong>_**T, _but I will most likely be adding some citrusy goodness in later chapters, so the rating might go up. Be on the look out for that! Anyway, thank you for reading!_**

**_HLKT_**


	2. This is What Fighting Gets Ya

**_A/N: Here's the newest chapter of _**_Sanity**! We're starting to really get into it now! Yay! I have several different view points in this chapter, so, to make it easier to read, I separated each POV by a line. In this episode, I think it's only two POVs, but there will be more in later chapters. **_

_***DISCLAIMER* **__I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Fairy Tail. _I don't own the characters, only my OC Ember. And her magic. Everything else I am just borrowing for the sake of living in Fiorre.

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><p>She stood up and contemplated the distance between her perch and the archway leading to the Guild's land. It wasn't that far of a jump, Ember decided. She could make it. She took a few steps back and stretched a bit. Then Ember took a running start, pushing off the edge of the building to jump across the gap. She landed on the stone arch, but only barely. Ember quickly crouched back down, grasping the edges to keep her balance. She didn't hear any sounds of alarm, so Ember figured she was safe. But, unbeknownst to her, a group of Fairy Tail's favorite men had seen something—or someemone—emland. And they were not to happy about someone trying to break into their Guild Hall, even having the audacity to try it in the middle of the day!

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><p>Natsu Dragneel, Happy, Gajeel Redfox, Gray Fullbuster, Elfman Strauss, Bickslow, and Freed Justine were all outside the Guild Hall. After having gotten into yet another brawl, the instigators were put in charge of cleaning up the grounds. After having burned all the weeds (and all of the grass) in his section, Natsu was taking a small break when he smelled a strange smell. It was a mix of some flower that he couldn't name, but knew it would be bad if he ate it, and death. Natsu kept turning his head in different directions, trying to pinpoint the location of the disturbing smell. But he was interrupted by an iron punch.<p>

Gajeel, having noticed the Fire Dragon Slayer's lack of attention, decided to be nice and bring Natsu back to the task at hand. And who was going to complain if he ruffed up Pinkie in the process? It was all his fault that they were out there in the first place. But if Gajeel was itching for a fight, he didn't get one from Natsu. A miracle in and of itself. Instead, Flame-Brain just turned to Gajeel and asked something that caught the attention of the rest of the guys.

"You smell that?"

"Huh?" five voices called out in annoying unison. Gajeel didn't bother to say anything, he just started sniffing. If Pinkie smelled something that distracted him that much, Gajeel wanted to be a part of it. After a minute or so, Gajeel caught an unfamiliar sent. He turned to Natsu and said, "Flowers? What's so weird about flowers?" He didn't want to admit it, but something about the unfamiliar flower did unnerve Gajeel. It smelled, well, weird. Poisonous. Gajeel could also smell the slightest tinge of death, but it didn't cross his mind as much as Natsu's.

Before Natsu could say anything, one of Bickslow's "babies" called everyone's attention to the archway. There, all of the boys saw a figure jump from a building onto the arch, flailing it's arms wildly before it could crouch down and catch its balance. Okay, that's weird. Usually guests walked straight in and didn't go sneaking around. So this person wasn't a guest. An enemy? These thoughts ran through everyone's heads, some faster than others. Of course, Freed was the first one to figure it out, followed quickly by Bickslow, Gray, and Happy. Freed drew his sword and quickly started writing an incantation that would trap any enemy of Fairy Tail while Bickslow arranged his babies in a row above his head. Happy flew into the Guild Hall to get Erza and Lucy and Gray quickly got into his stance.

Natsu and Elfman, on the other hand, took a little longer to figure it out. When he did, Elfman started yelling at the figure to come down and fight him like a real man. Too bad, though, that he couldn't be heard over Natsu. Flames shot out of the Dragon Slayer's body, framing him as he screamed at the mysterious figure for being rude enough to try and attack Fairy Tail. Gajeel just sighed in irritation.

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><p>Over on the arch, Ember was scoping the Guild for a way to sneak in. She could hear a commotion going on somewhere over to her left, but she paid it no mind. Ember Iliune wasn't Fairy Tail's number one spy for nothing. There was absolutely no way they could be making a fuss about her. Spotting an open window, Ember positioned herself for another jump. It would be stretching her reach, but she was sure she could make it. Just before she jumped, though, her Familiar started tugging at her shoelace again. Ember huffed, but crouched down once more to talk to her Familiar. What it said completely threw off her entire plan.<p>

"What do you mean, he's not there anymore?!"

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><p>The screech was clearly from a female, so the Fairy Tail boys had at least identified the gender of their mysterious new enemy. But her talking severely confused Freed. He had spelled Bickslow's babies to bind any enemy of Fairy Tail, and they were surrounding her. So how was she speaking? Freed started berating Bickslow for messing up his magic, drawing Gray, Elfman, and Natsu into the fight as well. Gajeel sighed at their bickering, and walked over to the arch. If you wanted something done right, and all that. The woman seemed to be arguing with herself, paying no attention to her surroundings. A rookie mistake. The Iron Dragon Slayer quickly readied his magic before stretching out his now steel arm, his punch landing square in the woman's gut.<p>

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><p>The punch came as a surprise to Ember, that was for sure. She hadn't been expecting anyone to notice her, after all. The suddenness of the attack scared her Familiar, but brought a small smile to Ember's lips. It seemed someone wanted to fight her. Ember stood up straight as the iron pole was pulled away from her stomach. She glanced down haughtily, wiping off the small amount of blood trailing from her mouth. The man she saw had black hair, easily as long as hers, but just as spiky as Flame-Brain's. He had several metal dots decorating his face, serving as eyebrows and outlining his nose. He wore a long black vest and loose white pants tucked into black boots. He had his (surprisingly) well-muscled arms crossed in front of his broad chest and was smirking up at Ember.<p>

Oh, yeah. He wanted a fight.

Ember took a step forward, landing about five feet in front of the man in a crouch. She stood up and tilted her head to the side, giving the man a teasing smile. "Are you sure you want to fight me, boy?" she asked in a whisper. Closer now, she could see his eyes were red. "Because I'm sure you do not."

The man snickered, his arms flexing and his smile growing. "Fight you? No," he said in a deep, gruff voice. "I was to kick your ass for trespassing on Fairy Tail ground."

All hints of a smile disappeared from Ember's face. Why should he care if she was on Fairy Tail ground or not? The answer became clear when Ember spotted the Fairy Tail mark on his arm. _Ah, so he must be new here, _Ember thought to herself. She took a step closer to the man. "If you could kick my ass, it would be for nothing," she said simply, her shoulder giving a small shrug. "I do have every right to be here."

"Bullshit."

The man's smile was gone, replaced by a sneer. He pulled back his arm and before her eyes, it transformed into a steel pole. So that was what had hit her. Ember only raised an eyebrow, but she did let the full extent of her power pour out of her body. A slight, chill wind picked up, spinning around the two, and the sun itself seemed to darken. The shadows around Ember grew darker and started to look almost tangible as they started shifting and swirling around her. If this man was now a member of Fairy Tail, Ember wouldn't kill him. But he was new, and thus Ember didn't know him. He had dared attack her, and all of those who attacked her and hers would be severely punished.


	3. MY BELOVED GRAY'S SISTER!

_**A/N: Hello, everyone! I just want to thank everyone who Favorited and followed this story! It really fills my heart with joy that you enjoyed it so much! And the reviews, oh! I'm just soooo happy! I'm sooooooo sorry it's taken me so long to update this! I just had to get off my lazy ass to write it! (And I've recently been sucked into **_**One Piece_... DAMN YOU ODA-SENSEI AND YOUR AMAZING WORK! DON'T STOP!) In this chapter, I have several different view points, and a lot of them change in the middle of paragraphs, so I have decided not to separate them via lines. Hopefully it flows okay. _**

**_Please let me know if you like this newest chapter of _Sanity! **

**_~~Shini~~_**

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><p>She looked different, but there was no mistaking the power storm that grew around her. Freed, Bickslow, and Gray all recognized Ember. The three of them had all seen her fight before, but only Gray knew just how dangerous this situation actually was. And he also knew that he was the only one in the vicinity who could stop her. With a loud and very unique curse, Gray started running towards Ember and Gajeel, loosing his shirt in the process. As he ran, the very air around him seemed to get heavy with her magical power, a very bad sign. Ember wasn't messing around, Gray suddenly knew. And it almost made him sick with worry for his fellow Guild members.<p>

"Emmy!"

The familiar voice, though slightly deeper, instantly brought a wide smile to Ember's face. Her magic dissipated around her, drawing a confused scowl from her opponent. Ember turned to see a tall male standing several feet away from her. He had blue-black hair that was spiked around his head, and eyes just as dark. All along his body were bruises—some new, some old—easily seen thanks to his lack of a shirt. On his right peck was the Fairy Tail symbol, marked in blue. His dark eyes hid the worry not seen in his wry smile. Ember ran towards Gray Fullbuster, and threw herself into his arms. It had been almost three years since she had last seen her little brother, much too long for her tastes.

Just in time to see Ember embrace Gray, Happy flew out of the Guild Hall, followed closely by Erza Scarlet, Lucy Heartfilia, and Juvia Lockser. None of the women recognized the girl hugging Gray, and each reacted in her own specific way. Erza instantly summoned a sword and stood ready to help Gray, if he should look like he needed it. Lucy placed a hand on her keys and used the other to unfurl her whip. Juvia's eyes went wide and her face turned a bright red. Who was this mystery woman embracing her beloved Gray?! HOW DARE SHE! Juvia got a scary look on her face, her body preparing to attack the-the—HARLOT—embracing her BELOVED.

Ember heard the women come outside the Guild, but was too happy to pay them any mind. She pulled back from Gray and reached one hand up to cup his cheek. Ember had grown some in the years she had been gone, but so had Gray. Ember had thought she would be as tall as her youngest brother once more, but now knew that her nose barely reached his chin. Other than his height and slightly deeper voice, Gray was the same. And that made her unbelievably happy. Ember grinned even wider and was about to hug Gray once more when she heard her shadow tell her to watch out. Without giving it any thought, Ember spun around and managed to make an Iced Shield to protect Gray from whatever danger was near.

Still confused by what had happened, Gajeel ended up getting soaked by Juvia's attack meant for this mysterious girl. He glared at Juvia, who looked completely surprised. Ember also looked surprised. In front of her eyes, her Iced Shield was almost completely melted. Ember let out a strangled cry and turned to the woman who attacked her with wide eyes. The woman had dark blue hair curled strangely just over her shoulders under what seemed to be a navy fur hat. Her jacket, also navy, came to her knees and was buttoned all along one side. A black belt cinched around her waist, emphasizing her curvy figure. Nothing about the girl screamed danger, but the look in her eyes... Ember broke out in a cold sweat as the girl glared at her.

A snort behind Ember distracted her from the deadly woman. "Still weak, I see," Gray said, partially hiding his smirk behind his fist.

Ember felt her cheeks turn a bright red. "Sh-shut up, Gray!" she said, lightly slapping her laughing brother's chest. "It's not funny! I've actually gotten stronger, if you hadn't noticed!" Ember took a step back and pointed at the remains of her shield, a pout present on her face. "See! I actually made a shield this time!"

Swallowing his laughter, Gray walked over and crouched down next to the remains of Ember's magic. He reached out a hand and lightly touched the ice, which instantly melted. Her ice was, as it always had been, too thin, and that's why Juvia had been able to melt it so easily. But she did make a full shield, something she had never been able to do before. Gray looked up at Ember with a small smile. "You've been practicing."

Gajeel watched as the woman snorted and crossed her arms over her che... ches—chest. It was quite nice, now that he was looking, really looking, at her. It wasn't over-sized like Pinky's friends, but was in no way small. They appeared to be a nice handful. Gajeel felt something wet under his nose and quickly looked back at her face. She seemed quite pleased with herself, a smirk plastered across her face. She was saying something about having been on a dangerous job, so of course she had gotten better. Gajeel didn't really care, so he didn't really pay attention. But then something did catch his attention.

"E-Ember?!"

Lucy glanced at Erza, unused to hearing the powerful mage sound so—scared. The red-haired knight was extremely pale, her armor clinking as she shook. Her doe-eyes wide, Lucy followed Erza's gaze to the mysterious woman talking to Gray. The woman turned and finally acknowledged Erza and Lucy. The woman unnerved Lucy, for some reason. Something about her eyes. They almost seemed to be the same color as Gajeels, a deep blood red, but there was something just _off_ about them. The woman's eyes almost seemed like she was fighting some internal war... and she was losing. Even when the woman smiled brightly and started to walk over towards the girls, Lucy still couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right with this mystifying new woman.

Ember heard her name and turned towards the familiar voice. She saw Erza standing behind the woman who had attacked her. Erza quickly dismissed her sword, which had been held in an unsteady hand. She looked absolutly terrified of Ember, which only sent a pleased shiver down her spine. It had been three years since she had last seen Erza, and was still able to inspire such fear in the famed Titania. Next to Erza stood a blonde woman with big, brown eyes. And huge tits. Ember felt her oh-so-fragile pride in her new bust break and shatter into a million pieces. _Of course _the new members of Fairy Tail would have big boobs. It was almost, like, a staple of the guild. At least the girl seemed scared of Ember. That was some consolation.

Putting on a bright smile, Ember raised her hand in a wave and started walking towards Erza and the newcomers. "Erza!" she said happily, "it's good to see you!"

"Y-You too, Ember," Erza said, starting to regain her composure. She smiled brightly at Ember. "Glad to see you're home safe."

"Wait! You know this woman?!" The one who had attacked Ember said, her eyes wide as she stared in shock at Erza.

"Of course I do, Juvia." Erza shot a confused look in the woman—Juvia's—direction. "She _is _a member of the Guild."

"Bu-bu-bu-but wh-why w-w-w-was she—," Juvia seemed both confused and upset, unable to even speak. Ember stared at her, raising her eyebrow in amusment.

The blonde woman on the other side of Erza caught Ember's attention once more when she pipped up. "I-I think Juvia's trying to ask why she seemed to close to Gray." She had a sweet-sounding voice, and looked rather weak. Usually, Ember would not have given the girl an thought. But Ember knew what team she was a part of, and that automatically gained her respect. If this girl could join not get Erza to join a team, but also unite her brother and Natsu, she had to have a deep internal strength that not even she had realized yet.

Gajeel also wanted to know what this woman's relationship with Gray was. He had already guessed that she was a fellow guild member, but having Erza state it as if it should be common knowledge intrigued him. Gajeel glanced to his side just in time to see Elfman and Natsu walk closer, joining the group. Freed and Bickslow were further behind, but still close enough to listen. Happy, that damn Natsu's cat, flew over and landed on his Dragon Slayer's head and gave an answer to the question that no one had seen coming.

"Ember's Gray's big sis!"

Gajeel could practiaclly feel the joints in his neck snap with how fast he turned to first stare at the cat, then at the woman. Lucy swears that her eyes almost fell out of her eyes and her jaw almost hit the ground. Juvia turned the color of snow and her hands moved to cover her mouth. Happy's words kept echoing in her head, over and over again. _His sister... his sister!...HIS SISTER! _Juvia just could not believe that she had just ATTACKED HER BELOVED GRAY'S BIG SISTER! HOW COULD SHE LIVE NOW?! HOW COULD SHE EXPECT GRAY TO LOVE HER?!

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><p><strong><em>Ah, Juvia, you are one crazy bitch. But we still love you! Look forward to the next chapter! ;)<em>**


	4. Big Sis and Shadows

_**A/N: Hello, all! I am back with chapter number four! Woo-hoo! In this one, we have a little more info into Ember's actual powers (small hint, Ice Maker like Gray and Lyon is only a secondary/forced magic of hers)! Hopefully this will explain a little as to why she is a powerful member of Fairy Tail, despite having weak Maker Magic. But I will not reveal all as of now! Mwahaha!**_

**_Hope you enjoy this chapter! _**

**_~~Shini~~_**

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><p>Ember stared at Juvia as the color quickly left her face. She seemed to be absolutely devastated about something, on the verge of fainting. Ember quickly glanced around to see what the other mages were thinking of the girl's unnerving lack of color, but was met with confused stares. The blonde woman looked like she couldn't close her mouth. The man she had originally been intending to fight stood as still as one of Evergreen's statues, his eyes big enough to be a dragon's. Everyone else seemed completely normal. Ember opened her mouth to say something when that Juvia chick flew at her, sobbing uncontrollably.<p>

"I'M SO SORRY, BIG SIS!" Juvia screamed as she threw herself into Ember's arms. Ember reluctantly caught the water woman, not knowing what else to do. She felt a slight blush appear on her cheeks, but it was not because this woman called her 'Big Sis', Mavis, no. That would be pathetic, for a wizard of Ember's skill and power to be flattered by such a small thing.

Without really thinking about it, Ember awkwardly patted the sobbing girl's back. "There, there," she started to say, when a sudden thought struck her brain like lightning. "Wait!" Ember grabbed a hold of Juvia's shoulders and pushed her away so that they were looking at each other, eye to eye. "Are you, by any chance, Gray's girlfriend?"

Big Sis think's I'm Gray's...GIRLFRIEND?! Juvia felt her very being start to boil, her skin turn a bright red. This was just too much of a shock. She could no longer keep conscious. Gajeel looked on, laughing his dragon-slayin' ass off, as Juvia fainted in Gray's sister's arms. The look on—what's her name—EMBER!—on Ember's face was absolutely priceless. She just looked so stunned and confused, wondering if she had said something wrong. Little did she know that she had said just the right thing to make Juvia her best friend and most loyal servant for the rest of her life.

"Girlfriend?!" Gray shouted, his cheeks turning red. Why would Ember think such a thing?! Juvia was just a friend! A FRIEND.

Natsu also started laughing just as hard, if not harder, than Gajeel. Just the thought! Gray! With Juvia! It was too much to bare! Natsu and Happy collapsed to the ground, rolling around on their backs and holding their stomachs as tears streamed down their cheeks. This was just too good to be true! Lucy and Erza were both giggling, but more from the looks on everyone's faces than amusement at Ember's question. They had both thought the same thing, but hadn't dared to ask.

"Ya got somethin' to say to me, Flame-Brain?!"

Erza instantly sobered as she witnessed Natsu stand up, still laughing. She knew another fight was brewing just under the surface, one that she had to put a stop to. Master had put her in charge of these idiots while he went to make reparations to the townsfolk who had gotten in the way of their last escapade. Erza walked over to her two friends, who were now face to face and on the verge of throwing fists, if not magic. Two quick punches later, one for each of them, and Erza was dragging the two inside the guild.

"C'mon, everyone!" Erza said cheerfully. "Let's go inside and celebrate Ember's safe return!"

Lucy and Happy followed Erza into the Guild Hall, followed closely by Elfman, who was carrying Juvia. That left a confused Ember standing out in the yard with Gajeel, Freed, and Bickslow. Turning to the iron-studded man, Ember lifted a confused eyebrow. The man just shrugged and turned to follow the others inside. Ember made a small hum before taking a step to follow the man. But she was stopped when she suddenly remembered that they were not the only two out there.

Gajeel felt an abrupt change in the air and turned his head to see what was going on behind him. The woman's face was set in a deadpan, the only expression in her eyes. And Gajeel saw something that he had not seen in the most feral of beasts, had not even seen in Metalicana. It was pure, absolute, undiluted _rage. _Gajeel finished turning around and saw that her hands were curled into fists, blood seeping out of them from her nails biting into the skin of her palms. In front of her, cast by the sun, was her shadow. Gajeel had never seen a shadow so dark and ominous-looking before. Right in front of his eyes, her shadow started moving and swirling, as if it were made up of thousands of living creatures. And they looked pissed.

"Freed, Bickslow." Her voice was different than it had been moments before. Earlier, it had been higher, with a slight rough undertone. Now, it was deep and husky, enough to terrify a normal man. The mages she had mentioned both froze as Gajeel watched, all traces of color draining from their faces. "I have not seen Gray with my own eyes in over three years. I will not let you ruin this."

Ember turned her head slightly and something weird happened. Gajeel watched as her shadow, her entire shadow, dispersed and moved in hundreds of dark tendrils towards Freed and Bickslow. The parts of her shadow literally crawled up both Freed and Bickslow. To the on looking Dragon-Slayer, it appeared as if they were binding the two Thunder Legion members, rendering the two utterly immobile. Gajeel could tell they couldn't move, but he couldn't understand why. Was this girl controlling her shadow and using it to bind her fellow Guild Members? Her voice shook Gajeel out of his stunned awe.

"I do not wish to deal with you today. You will go and alert Master that I have returned, and that I wish to speak with him." The shadows abruptly left the two mages, returning to the shape of Ember. Without changing her expression, the girl turned her head and pinned the two with her gaze just as effectively as with her shadow. "Do I make myself clear?"

Both Freed and Bickslow gave stiff nods before turning and running into town. As soon as they were out of eyesight, Gajeel felt the air lighten. He turned back to the girl and saw something that surprised him. Where she had looked on the verge of ripping the two apart with her bare hands, she now looked like she was about to cry. The drastic change in demeanor threw Gajeel for a loop. But within seconds her ezpression was back to what it had been. The girl looked up and seemed to notice Gajeel for the first time. Her eyes widened and she took a half step back. Before she could say anything, Gajeel spoke.

"Some trick," the first man she had met said gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not easy to make those two so terrified."

Ember tilted her head down, some of her raven hair falling into her eyes. "You know them well, then," she said slowly. Ember hesitantly started walking towards the Guild Hall.

"Not really," the guy replied, falling into step beside Ember. "I just know that they gave Gray, Lucy, and Mira a hard time."

That was some surprising news. Not that they had fought Gray and Miss Blonde-Tits-A-Lot, no, Ember already knew that. "Freed fought Mirajane?!" Ember turned quickly and grabbed the man's shoulder, moving him to face her. "B-but... I thought she had retired! Is my information network failing me?!"

Gajeel decided that he liked this girl. She was obviously powerful, if she could terrify so many powerful mages. But he really liked this side of her. She looked—small, almost. Cute. Like a little kid that is! Yeah, she was attractive, but there was no way in hell that Gajeel would admit that someone was cute! "No, she still is retired," Gajeel answered, a small smirk playing across his lips.

"Th-then how did...how did she beat Freed?" Her eyes were big and wide, almost seeming to darken. This close to her, Gajeel could see that she had a small freckle under her right eye, near the outer edge. Her lips were open slightly in disbelief, and they were a nice lovely shade of pink. They sparkled slightly in the sunlight...

Gajeel quickly turned his head away from her and started walking again. "She did use her magic to beat him, but only with the help of some other chick. The drunk one." The girl quickly jogged to catch up to him, drawing Gajeel's attention to two very nice assets of her's...

"Cana?"

Gajeel grunted in conformation, speeding up. Damn, he needed a drink. He didn't remember the last time he had found himself so unable to concentrate because of a woman. Yeah, he found some women to be attractive before. There was that Lucy chick for one, but she was obviously into Pinky. Gajeel knew Juvia too well to ever be sexually interrested in her. That Levy girl was nice, someone he might've thought of pursuing, if it wasn't for her chest. He wasn't nessicarily a fan of the huge knockers most Fairy Tail women had, but Levy's were just a little _too _small for his taste. Don't misunderstand, if she offered, it's not like he would refuse. Boobs are boobs after all. But this girl... This Ember... her tits were nice. They were large, not too large, but also not too small. They were round, and perky... AND GODDAMMIT STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS SHIT!

Ember watched out of the corner of her eye as the man's face slowly flushed. He kept glancing down at her, but not at her face. If his blush and and gaze weren't clues enough of what he was thinking, his sudden nose bleed was. Ember felt a small smirk appear on her face. This guy could end up being a lot of fun to tease. Without even really thinking about it, Ember grabbed his arm again and tugged, making him look at her once more. She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed slightly.

"I'm Ember Iliune."

"Huh, Gajeel R—," Gajeel turned to face the girl, automatically starting to reply to her introduction. Then he saw what position she was in. Was that conniving bitch doing this purposely?! Pushing her boobs together and bending over like that! Well, he wouldn't fall for her tricks! Not this Dragon-Slayer! Nu-uh! "I'm Gajeel Redfox," he stated quickly, turning away and speed walking into the Guild Hall.

With a small chuckle Ember stood up and watched the broad back of Gajeel as he disappeared into the Guild Hall. Oh, yes. She would have fun teasing him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Oh, and Gajeel might seem a little OOC in this, but I can just see him as being a total pervert. Let me know if I made him a little too weird! Thanks! *chu***_

_**~~Shini~~**_


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